Wildcats roll past Post 14

July 18, 2013

INWOOD-Berkeley Post No. 14 learned how not sweet things can be Wednesday, losing to the Jefferson Wildcats 19-7 in American Legion baseball.

Both teams were matched completely in the first inning. They each sent eight batters to the plate and scored four runs.

For the Wildcats, the runs came from the combined work of seven players. Garrett Everton started them off with a double and took third base on a wild pitch. He tagged up to score on a flyout by Anthony Diamario.

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Seth Campbell singled to shallow center field. Brandt Petrie followed suit with a single that drove Campbell to third base. Dennis Jackson loaded the bases with a walk for Paul Witt, who singled to right field, driving in Campbell. Cody McDowell hit his first ground- rule double of the game to drive in the final two runs of the inning.

Post No.14 answered in the bottom of the inning. Trey Thompson hit his first home run of the game to lead off. Jarin Jenkins tripled to right field right after, showing big offense for Berkeley. Troy Markley drove Jenkins in with a basehit, and Daniel Heleine doubled to bring Markley around. Heleine scored on an overthrow after Jacob Whitmore singled.

After the big inning, Post No. 14's offense seemingly disappeared.

"We've been spurty with that all year long. Generally, you can count on us for at least 10 hits a game. We can be explosive," manager Scott Jenkins said. He added that when strategies need changed and batters have to take more pitches, they won't see as many hits.

Jefferson added another in the second on a walk to Jared Silva and a double by Everton.

The Wildcats exploded in the fourth. They took six walks in the inning and hit three times to put another 10 runs on the board.

Everton began the inning with a walk and took second on a sacrifice bunt by Diamario. Campbell also walked. Petrie loaded the bases with a single up the middle. All the runners moved up a base, including Everton who scored, on a wild pitch. With the team showing great patience at the plate, Witt took the third walk of the inning.

McDowell got his second ground-rule double, driving in Petrie and Jackson. Frazier Brown was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Silva, who drove in Witt with an infield single. Everton and Diamario, in their second plate appearances of the inning, both walked, adding two runs. With bases loaded, Campbell tripled to drive in three more.

"We hit the ball extremely well. The guys who didn't hit got on base," Jefferson manager Richie Witt said, adding it was a team effort that beat Berkeley's pitching.

Three more runs were scored by Jefferson in the fifth. McDowell hit a sacrifice fly to bring in Jackson, who walked, and Silva singled to drive in the final two runs.

The Wildcats added their final run in the sixth when a hit off the bat of McDowell took a bad hop and brought Jackson in to score.

For Post No. 14, the pitching problem Jefferson took advantage of is a new issue.

"That's been our strong point. The last two games, we struggled with walks. It's kind of a surprise to us," Jenkins said.

It was pitcher Matt Stambaugh's first loss this season.

Berkeley started to make a comeback but didn't have enough innings to finish it. The Knights added three runs in the sixth, making the score 19-7.

Darrin Zombro singled by the third baseman to start Post 14's half of the inning. He moved to second when Maverick Keller walked. Thompson sent his second ball over the fence for the final Post No. 14 runs.

"I think it left us feeling better at the end," Jenkins said about the late-inning offensive spurt. "He's (Thompson) hit the ball well. He's come a long way. He's a big part of this team."